Ridgetop
Herd Master
B&BGoats has good advice. This happens every time a young animal is purchased and transferred to another home. Even well trained horses need a settling in period before being ridden for the first time.
First, these young kids were probably mama fed. Bottle fed kids look at all humans as dispensers of love and food. Mama fed kids look at their mamas and other herd members for food and safety. If the mamas of these kids were not friendly to their owners these babies learned to be skittish of humans too. And don't forget that while you were excited about getting these adorable kids, and all looked forward to their arrival, they don't know anything about you except that you kidnapped them from their herd. They are prey animals and their reactions are to flee from pursuit. It is the way they would survive in the wild. Every so often you and several smaller versions of you appear in their pen and chase them around. They do not know you and it is natural for them to be afraid of you until they learn you are their herd now.
Do the goats have collars on them? Get some leather dog collars and put a collar on each one. That way you can easily keep control of the goat after catching it. Keeping it on the ground instead of picking it up in the air will be less frightening for the kid. Put a leash on the kid's collar and the goats can wander around the pen while the children hold the leashes. That way the child can gently bring the goat close for petting without chasing it, then allow the kid to back away to a comfortable distance. By doing this for about a month the goats should be comfortable and looking forward to being petted. Goats are a herd animal, you have to make yourselves part of their herd now while they are small and learning and they will recognize you as their herd.
Next have the children take a lawn chair inside the pen and sit there while they read, or play Gameboys, etc. The children should just sit there, not try to pet the goats yet. If the children are not old enough to be trustworthy on their own, have them do it while you are doing the other feeding and barn chores. The goats will learn on one is a threat and get tamer around all of you. We bought a 3 month old ram lamb who was skittish last May. My 10 year old grandson would go in the pen everyday with his book and just sit there reading. He ignored the lamb. Eventually he started taking in handfuls of grain and the ram would come over to see what he had. By summer vacation (we watch the grandkids everyday since their mother is a teacher) the ram lamb was very tame and docile. In fact, DS1 can go in the pen now and doesn't have to catch him to replace the breeding harness crayon - he just walks up to him and does it. The older ram was a yearling when we got him and he is not as tame. We have to corner him or rope him although he stands fairly calmly after we catch him as DS1 replaces the crayon.
First, these young kids were probably mama fed. Bottle fed kids look at all humans as dispensers of love and food. Mama fed kids look at their mamas and other herd members for food and safety. If the mamas of these kids were not friendly to their owners these babies learned to be skittish of humans too. And don't forget that while you were excited about getting these adorable kids, and all looked forward to their arrival, they don't know anything about you except that you kidnapped them from their herd. They are prey animals and their reactions are to flee from pursuit. It is the way they would survive in the wild. Every so often you and several smaller versions of you appear in their pen and chase them around. They do not know you and it is natural for them to be afraid of you until they learn you are their herd now.
Do the goats have collars on them? Get some leather dog collars and put a collar on each one. That way you can easily keep control of the goat after catching it. Keeping it on the ground instead of picking it up in the air will be less frightening for the kid. Put a leash on the kid's collar and the goats can wander around the pen while the children hold the leashes. That way the child can gently bring the goat close for petting without chasing it, then allow the kid to back away to a comfortable distance. By doing this for about a month the goats should be comfortable and looking forward to being petted. Goats are a herd animal, you have to make yourselves part of their herd now while they are small and learning and they will recognize you as their herd.
Next have the children take a lawn chair inside the pen and sit there while they read, or play Gameboys, etc. The children should just sit there, not try to pet the goats yet. If the children are not old enough to be trustworthy on their own, have them do it while you are doing the other feeding and barn chores. The goats will learn on one is a threat and get tamer around all of you. We bought a 3 month old ram lamb who was skittish last May. My 10 year old grandson would go in the pen everyday with his book and just sit there reading. He ignored the lamb. Eventually he started taking in handfuls of grain and the ram would come over to see what he had. By summer vacation (we watch the grandkids everyday since their mother is a teacher) the ram lamb was very tame and docile. In fact, DS1 can go in the pen now and doesn't have to catch him to replace the breeding harness crayon - he just walks up to him and does it. The older ram was a yearling when we got him and he is not as tame. We have to corner him or rope him although he stands fairly calmly after we catch him as DS1 replaces the crayon.
